The Arch Street Basketball Court – also known as The Jungle – located in Allegheny Commons Park, is being renovated with the help of local artists and funds from a national competition.
You may remember that in 2023, The Jungle, with artist Janel Young (JY Originals), Clay and Cole McCloskey, founders of Pittsburgh-based creative agency Hounds, and nonprofit Swishh Dreams, participated in a nationwide contest Every Court Has a Story hoping to win a full court renovation for The Jungle. With an impressive and inspiring video, A Northside Solo, and the efforts and support of our Northside neighbors and the Pittsburgh community, The Jungle Won The Contest! The planned renovation will include crack repair, patch fill, resurfacing, color coating, artistic court painting, and new backboards and rims.
The current plan of the team is to bring together the neighbors of the Northside and surrounding Pittsburgh communities through the teams’ Arch Street Basketball Court EngagePGH webpage, The Jungle Social Media page, and community gatherings and forums. This will help in developing the court’s design, planning for the opening ceremony, and continuous use of the court to benefit the community.
Share Your Vision With The Artist
The team is currently seeking input for the Art Design of the court. The goal is to have the art connect three main themes:
- Basketball (The roots of the court)
- Jazz (A Pittsburgh historical connection)
- Jungle (The historic nickname of the court)
You are asked to share your vision for The Jungle by completing a short survey. Your input will help the artist, Janel Young, base the court art on what the neighborhood envisions. Let’s make this basketball court a reflection of our community spirit.
Please share your ideas for the design – whether it be colors, themes, features, symbols, whatever… Tell your stories and recall your memories of our Northside neighborhood, basketball in general, or The Jungle specifically. And let your friends and neighbors know that everyone’s feedback is important. Together, we can help to create a space that is a welcoming environment for all!
Survey responses will be accepted through Monday, January 15, 2024.
Quick Links:
The jungle is a big part of Northside for life.. many rappers go there to make music videos or to go there to think about stuff in life.. it’s a good place to think get your anger out or just a place to hangout with friends and play basketball… a rapper from Northside by the name of Quincey Boyd aka stunna2fly made a song and music video called NFL and the video is based and film on the court.
Thank you for this comment, Lou! We’ll be sure to include this with our other survey responses. Much appreciated.